The "Quinfecta" Second Flatiron via Free for All (5.6) First Flatiron via East Face (5.6) Third Flatiron via East Face (5.2) Fifth Flatiron via East Face North (5.4) Fourth Flatiron via East Face (5.4)

August 16, 2015Partner: Pete K6.6 miles4,440' gain6 hours 54 minutes

The Flatirons and I seem to get along quite well. While my more motivated comrades have all moved on to bigger and better objectives, I continually find myself drawn back into the gentle embrace of the Flatirons. These foothills so close to Boulder has given me the gift of seemingly endless adventuring and wandering that I truly love along with a surprising sense of solitude so close to Boulder.

Many others have been drawn to the Flatirons as well, and there is a long list of named linkups that exist between the formations that have popped up over the decades. The "Quinfecta" caught my attention years ago due to the elegantly simply goal of linking up the main east face routes on all five of the numbered Flatirons, but my general lack of cardio and unwillingness to solo much of anything had me simply adding it to my wishlist of things I'd likely never get around to.

As the years passed I slowly became more confident on the low-angled slabs without the comfort of a rope, but there were still routes that made me nervous. The First, Second and Third became more familiar, but the Fourth and the north side of the Fifth were more remote, lichen-covered and easy to ignore. The Quinfecta was starting to become an actual linkup that could be realistic for me, but it did require some trips to scout the routes on the Fourth and Fifth that I was not as familiar with. Compounding the challenge was the fact that the First, Second, Third and Fifth involved 5th-class downclimbing and would normally be rappelled. My laziness negated my urge to carry a rope just to rappel so more trips were made to investigate the "scrambling" descents off of each formation. Thankfully I have a few friends that love the Flatirons as much as I do and the holes were slowly filled in.

As I had been toying with finally giving the Quinfecta a go, I received an email from my buddy Pete out of the blue asking if I wanted to do the Trifecta to link the First, Second and Third. I gave a quick reply saying sure and almost jokingly asking if he'd be interested in tacking on the Fourth and Fifth to round out the day and was surprised when we quickly agreed. We met at Chautauqua at 6:30am and were sadly not surprised at how crowded the parking lot already was. The morning air was far from cool, reminding us of how hot it would be once the sun gained it's momentum and I couldn't help but question my idea to only bring two liters of water as we started up the familiar trail.

We were looking at climbing the Second to the First, then the Third, finished by the Fifth then Fourth. I had set the order of the day to minimize hiking distance and in my opinion be the most natural rock to rock connection. The base of the Second came quickly and we didn't hesitate before launching up Freeway enjoying the fact that the start touched the trail. Freeway has been a favorite of mine for years and upward progress is always aided by giant holds, but unfortunately it does not go all the way to the summit. Halfway up the face, we left the route and veered left into Free for All and tiptoed up the first crux of the day to the base of the Second's summit block. Fun ridge climbing put us on the summit of the Second about 54 minutes after starting. The downclimb went smoothly and the dusty trail took us quickly to the base of the massive east face of the First.

The First if a wonderful Flatiron, and other than a thin fist pitch, hundreds of feet of easy climbing lead up to an airy summit. Today went just as usual as we moved casually up the face. Small gusts of wind kept us cool on the upper arete and we admired the impressive view of the Third to the south. The downclimb cruised by and I led us down the not-so-secret, "secret" path toward the base of the Third where we ran into our first people of the day. We patiently waited while a group of three climbed the first pitch, and enjoyed the opportunity to relax and drink water. It had gotten hot and I was already concerned that I wouldn't have enough water.

Climbing the Third has practically become muscle memory and something I could do in the dark. Before long we were sitting on the summit, and only paused briefly before making the long downclimb to the south. This was be the longest and most sustained downclimb of the day, and it was nice to touch ground on rugged south side of the Third. Descending directly south into Bluebell Canyon is possible and something I had recently explored, so we more or less made good time down to the Royal Arch trail although there were a few sections of impassable poison ivy that had to be waded through. There were only two more Flatirons to go, but the Fourth and Fifth are both much further apart and long routes as well. The heat was taking a toll, and I ended up wasting some of my clean water trying to purify some from a small scummy puddle only to discover I didn't have any purification tabs.

My legs were getting stiff as we hiked up toward the Fifth, passing the Fourth on the way and the Royal Arch crowds were out in full force. Getting back off the crowded it trail was nice and we worked up through the brush to the base of the Fifth. Although the south side of the Fifth is one of my favorites, I had never really been a fan of the northern side of the east face. It is steep, sustained and peppered with lichen so I chose to change into rock shoes for this one. As we moved up gradually up the face, it was becoming apparent I was starting to get fatigued and we moved slowly to not make any mistakes. Fortunately, the upper ridgeline is much easier than the lower face and we picked up speed toward the airy summit. The Fifth is one of my favorite Flatirons and I enjoyed our brief rest before making the sneaky south side downclimb back to the ground.

The hike back down to Royal Arch passed quickly and we soon were engulfed in the hoards. Picking up the pace, we motored over to the base of the Fourth and didn't waste time before launching up. I was tired, it was hot and the Fourth is massive. Moving slowly up the face became an exercise is trying to ignore the heat and we took short breaks in the shade at the top of the first piece, then again in the hanging garden that makes the gash of the second piece. The last piece of the Fourth is a brushy, lichen-covered mess, but thankfully much shorter than the first two pieces so the final slab came and went and we sat perched high up on the summit of the Fourth. We joked about taking three times longer to get to the top of the Fourth than the record car to car time on the whole linkup. After enjoying the views, we took the short jump off the Fourth and booked it down to Sentinel Pass and jogged the last mile back to the car. It had been a great outing, everything went smoothly and I had some pleasant company the whole time. I couldn't help but be impressed that no matter how many times I had climbed in the Flatirons, there always seemed to be more adventure out there to find.